One-Minute Protein Caramel Sauce

This Protein Caramel Sauce is going to change your dessert game forever.

This caramel sauce takes only one minute to make, contains 4 ingredients, is low in calories & high in protein, contains no sugar, and has 0g net carbs!

And most importantly: it’s delicious.

Traditional caramel sauce takes time to cook, requires precise temperature control, and can turn into a rock if you’re not careful. I don’t know about you, but I prefer simple…

If you’re thinking that this is too good to be true, you’ll just have to give this one a try to see for yourself! I’ve already made this protein caramel sauce numerous times, and I absolutely love it.

While it may not be quite the same as traditional caramel sauce that you’re used to, for something with zero sugar and only 25 calories per tablespoon, it’s darn good.

I’ve enjoyed this protein caramel on its own, served over ice cream, added to cookies, and drizzled over brownies. There’s really no wrong way to enjoy caramel.

And with a sneaky 2.5 grams of protein per tablespoon, it’s a delicious way to get a little bit of extra protein into your day.

Ingredients in Protein Caramel Sauce

All you need to make this protein caramel sauce is one minute of time and just 4 ingredients. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

The ingredients we’re using here are protein powder, sugar-free syrup, spreadable butter, and brown sugar substitute.

If you’re interested in making some substitutions, here is why I chose each ingredient:

PEScience Protein Powder: PEScience is the brand I use for all of my recipes, and this caramel waffle cone flavor is perfect for this caramel sauce. I’ve used vanilla numerous times as well and it works great! PEScience is a whey/casein blend, but a regular whey protein would also work in this case. No matter which brand you go with, just make sure you like the taste, because it’s a matter part of this recipe.

Sugar-Free Syrup: I enjoy using sugar-free syrup because it contains virtually no calories (just 15 calories for 2 tablespoons) and I find the flavor profile to be similar to pancake syrup. Sugar-free syrup is relatively thin, so you’ll end up with an even thicker and gooier caramel sauce if you opt for real maple syrup or honey (the calories will just be higher).

Butter/Butter Spread: The butter in this recipe is necessary to give this protein caramel sauce its smooth consistency and to balance out some of the sweetness. I use Country Crock spread because it is only 50 calories per tablespoon, vs regular butter that is 100 calories per tablespoon. Country Crock is actually non-dairy as well, if that is something you’re after! Regular butter will work here, as well as any other “buttery spread.”

Brown Sugar Substitute: Brown sugar is what is going to give us that dark caramel color and enhanced sweetness. If you use white sugar the protein caramel sauce is going to have a different flavor profile. You can use regular brown sugar instead of a sugar-free alternative, but I definitely recommend sticking with some form of brown sugar.

How to make Protein Caramel Sauce

The process to make your own protein caramel sauce could not be simpler, but let’s run through it quickly.

Put your butter, syrup, and brown sugar in a microwave-safe bowl.

Since butter pops in the microwave and can make a real mess, give everything a quick mix. If your butter is fully coated in the syrup, it will just melt without popping all over your microwave.

Microwave this mixture for 30 seconds, then whisk together until smooth.

Add it back to the microwave for another 30 seconds to heat it a little more, then whisk one more time.

Once everything is combined, we’ll add the protein powder a little bit at a time while mixing.

While whisking, add the protein powder a little bit at a time, then continue whisking (about 30 seconds) until the mixture fully smooths out and there are no clumps left.

Technically we’re done at this stage, but we’re going to let the caramel sauce sit for about an hour.

As the protein caramel sauce sits it will thicken and the flavor will develop, so don’t jump on the gun there. After one hour it will thicken up to the perfect caramel consistency.

To save the caramel sauce for later, I like to keep mine in a small mason jar. At room temperature the caramel sauce will remain fresh for roughly 3 days. If you need to stretch it beyond 3 days, it can easily be stored in the fridge for much longer.

Note that as the sauce sits it may thicken up a bit, but a quick mix will loosen it up. If you store this protein caramel sauce in the fridge it will harden, so when you’re ready to enjoy it, simply microwave for about 15 seconds and it should be good as new!

The best ways to enjoy Protein Caramel Sauce

Caramel sauce tastes delicious, but I’m sure you’re not planning on just eating it with a spoon (although you could).

If you need some ideas on how you can use your new protein caramel sauce, here are some of my suggestions…

Drizzle over your favorite high-protein desserts

I’ve got a ton of high-protein dessert recipes on this site that this caramel sauce would be a perfect compliment to. Brownies of any kind get my vote, but here are some of my favorites:

Use as a caramel sauce for your ice cream

When combined with vanilla ice cream, the flavor of this caramel sauce is unreal. It’s on the sweeter side on its own, but when combined with creamy ice cream, it levels out perfectly.

Whip up a batch of Twix cookies

I saw that Crumbl served Twix cookies, and I needed to make my own high-protein version.

This caramel sauce combined with crunchy high-protein shortbread and some dark chocolate, and you’ve got yourself an incredible combination. Get my Twix Protein Cookie recipe here.

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